The last 2 days in France were great. They started off with a climb over the mountains to the east of Belfort. Had a coffee in a cafe in Belfort, which has a very impressive castle. I left France along the Rhone-Rhine canal, which I followed to Altkirch then took a road to Basel.
The change feom France to Switzerland was massive. The language changed to German, but more noticeably the buildings abd people were completely different. More importantly as soon as I entered Switzerland were 2 things that France lacked: a decent bike shop and a clean public toilet with soap and bog roll provided! The tram system looked good and there were some impressive buildings, the River Rhine flows through the city too. A very nice place which I'll go back to one day when I have some more money. It's not cheap!
I left Basel along the Rhine, which I followed for a while, then crossed it into Germany. Was made to feel very welcome straight away with waves and hallos! Maybe it's because I can speak more German than French (which isn't saying much) but I felt more at home here).
I headed north into the black forest and spent the rest of the day climbing up a gorgeous gorge. Ended up camping on top of a very cold but beautiful mountain at about 3000 feet. The next day I descended to the start of the River Danube, at Donau Eshingen. I've been following the river ever since and it's guided me past castles, cliffs, monastries and lovely villages. I'd love to come back here and stay in the guesthouses and eat in the restaurants with some money and some company!
Today was a lovely morning but the afternoon was very wet. Rained for about 5 hours of riding and is still doing now. I was pretty miserable by about 4 but then a really nice bloke cycled up along side mean and we had a chat as well as my faltering German would allow. He was one of the rare people in Germany who doesn't speak English. A bit of company was nice and the time went much quicker. I waved goodbye to him on the edge of Ulm and went to find a hotel because I couldn't face another damp night! It's a fantastic city center in Ulm with an absolutely massive cathedral and loads of traditional restaurants and buildings by the Danube.
I found my room and got a kebab and a beer to take back to it. Won't be up too early tomorrow!
The change feom France to Switzerland was massive. The language changed to German, but more noticeably the buildings abd people were completely different. More importantly as soon as I entered Switzerland were 2 things that France lacked: a decent bike shop and a clean public toilet with soap and bog roll provided! The tram system looked good and there were some impressive buildings, the River Rhine flows through the city too. A very nice place which I'll go back to one day when I have some more money. It's not cheap!
I left Basel along the Rhine, which I followed for a while, then crossed it into Germany. Was made to feel very welcome straight away with waves and hallos! Maybe it's because I can speak more German than French (which isn't saying much) but I felt more at home here).
I headed north into the black forest and spent the rest of the day climbing up a gorgeous gorge. Ended up camping on top of a very cold but beautiful mountain at about 3000 feet. The next day I descended to the start of the River Danube, at Donau Eshingen. I've been following the river ever since and it's guided me past castles, cliffs, monastries and lovely villages. I'd love to come back here and stay in the guesthouses and eat in the restaurants with some money and some company!
Today was a lovely morning but the afternoon was very wet. Rained for about 5 hours of riding and is still doing now. I was pretty miserable by about 4 but then a really nice bloke cycled up along side mean and we had a chat as well as my faltering German would allow. He was one of the rare people in Germany who doesn't speak English. A bit of company was nice and the time went much quicker. I waved goodbye to him on the edge of Ulm and went to find a hotel because I couldn't face another damp night! It's a fantastic city center in Ulm with an absolutely massive cathedral and loads of traditional restaurants and buildings by the Danube.
I found my room and got a kebab and a beer to take back to it. Won't be up too early tomorrow!
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